Juniper trees are common conifers found throughout the northern hemisphere. With over 60 different species junipers display incredible diversity in size shape, color, and texture. From prostrate ground-hugging shrubs to towering evergreen trees, junipers adapt to varied environments from seashores to high mountain tops.
When identifying a juniper tree, images are invaluable resources. Photos allow you to examine the distinctive features of juniper foliage, bark, cones, and growth habit. This visual guide explores juniper tree images to help you identify junipers growing in your landscape.
Color and Texture of Juniper Foliage
The needle-like or scale-like leaves of juniper trees provide the first clues in identification Juniper foliage comes in shades of green, blue-green, gray-green, or blue-gray The colors result from a whitish bloom or wax coating called glaucous that covers the scale-like leaves of some species.
Silvery blue junipers like the Blue Point Juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Blue Point’) showcase glaucous foliage. The lustrous aquamarine needles shimmer when backlit by the sun.
Green junipers lack glaucous coating on their foliage. The spreading branches of creeping junipers like the Bar Harbor Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbor’) display vibrant green needle-like leaves
Soft or sharp-tipped scale-like leaves give juniper foliage a smooth or prickly texture. For example, the blunt scales of Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) feel smooth compared to the sharp tips of One Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma).
Bark Patterns and Trunk Shapes
Juniper bark ranges from stringy and shredding to blocky plates resembling reptile skin. The trunk and branches emerge in diverse shapes from low mounding shrubs to tall tapering trees.
Peeling cinnamon-red bark identifies Drooping Juniper (Juniperus flaccida). Fibrous gray-brown bark covers the trunks of the wide, irregularly-branched Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana).
A few junipers like Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) rarely grow trunks. Instead, the branches spread out low along the ground. Meanwhile, columnar junipers such as Skyrocket Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’) shoot up in a narrow, upright column.
Identifying Juniper Cones
The small, berry-like cones offer more clues for juniper identification. Also called galbuli, the fleshy juniper “berries” take 1-3 years to mature into rounded, oblong, or egg-shaped structures in shades of brown, purple, or blue.
The reddish-brown mature cones of California Juniper (Juniperus californica) resemble tiny crabapples. Female Common Junipers (Juniperus communis) produce dusty blue cones just 1/4 inch in diameter.
Cones grow on short, straight stalks or longer curved stems. Some species like Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) produce small protrusions called umbos on the cone tips. Others have a whitish bloom that appears glaucous.
Growth Habit
The overall growth habit shows whether a juniper forms a shrub, tree, or prostrate groundcover. Small prostrate varieties of Creeping Juniper hug the ground while Chinese Junipers can reach 60 feet tall.
Growth habit hints at preferred growing conditions. For instance, Creeping Junipers thrive in windy, cold sites. Shore Junipers (Juniperus conferta) inhabit beach dunes. Alligator Juniper and Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) survive arid deserts and baking sun.
Identifying Mature Juniper Trees
Bushy juniper shrubs transform into picturesque juniper trees over time. Mature trees develop rugged, furrowed trunks and open crowns.
An old California Juniper growing on a rocky slope displays twisted trunks and branches weathered from years of harsh conditions. The broad pyramidal crown of an ancient Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) spreads out to provide shade at maturity.
Finding Junipers Around the World
Thanks to their adaptability, junipers grow on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. Images reflect the diverse settings where junipers thrive.
The juniper woodlands of the southwestern United States showcase the shaggy canopies of Alligator Juniper and drooping limbs of Weeping Juniper (Juniperus flaccida). Chinese Juniper shelters panda bears in China’s misty mountain forests.
From bonsai specimens to towering trees, juniper images reveal the versatility of these hardy conifers. Match images of foliage, fruit, bark, and form to identifying features to recognize the junipers growing in your own landscape.
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Junipers as Shrubbery
FAQ
How do you tell if a tree is a juniper?
What is special about a juniper tree?
What does the Bible say about juniper trees?
What are the downsides of juniper trees?
What does a juniper tree look like?
Like all conifers, junipers have identifiable evergreen needle leaves or scaly feathery leaves. Sharp, prickly needle leaves identify immature juniper trees and shrubs and typically grow in whorls of three and measure 0.2 – 1” (0.5 – 2.5 cm). In addition, mature junipers have soft scale leaves that look more like arborvitae tree leaves.
How do you know if a juniper is a conifer?
The best way to identify junipers is by the prickly needle-like leaves on immature juniper trees and bushes. Junipers also have distinctive berry-like cones that help tell junipers apart from other coniferous trees. Juniper trees and shrubs have an identifiable citrus aroma when the leaves or bark are crushed.
How tall do junipers grow?
Species of juniper trees vary in shape and they grow between 66 and 103 ft. (20 – 40 m) tall. However, junipers can also grow as low-growing, spreading shrubs growing as little as 1 ft. (0.3 m) or as tall as 5 or 6 ft. (1.5 – 1.8 m). Junipers also grow in many climates and can withstand freezing temperatures.
What is a juniper tree called?
Shore Juniper (Juniperus rigida var conferta) Shore Juniper is often called Juniperus conferta, but plant authorities now recognize it not as a distinct species but as a shrubby botanical variant of the Temple Juniper. The epithet conferta means crowded, referring to the leaves.
What does a California juniper look like?
The California juniper is a native shrub-like juniper tree identified by scaly green-gray leaves, dark blue-brownish fleshy cones, and thin peeling bark. The short scaly leaves on mature plants grow 0.2” (0.5 cm) long. Like all junipers, the evergreen leaves are stiff and prickly on immature shrubs.
What is a juniper tree with berries?
Rocky Mountain Juniper with juniper berries. Juniperus scopulorum. Semi-fleshy, bluish cones. Found widely throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Zion National Park, Utah. USA Abstract Juniper Branches with Berries Background. Original Texture of natural Juniperus squamata Juniper.